As for the loans, I do realize two of you have Annies/Q701, so I'm SAYING if you really want to demo the MA900 bear in mind that they're not on the same level as the AKGs. Think of these as the cheaper alternative to the 70x/Annie/HD6x0 with more comfort and less demand for amping.Edited by Mad Lust Envy - 8/30/13 at 2:21am

Which one would you choose? The Astro a40 2013 @ $150 (headset only) or the Creative Aurvana Live + Antlion Modmic @ $90... I'm looking for something good all around for music/competitive gaming. I listen to rap mainly, but I occasionally listen to other genres.I currently have the 2011 Astro mixamp as well. Also, I was wondering, for those that own the modmic, how is the sound quality on xbl in comparison to the original $20 wired ms headset or the astros?

I already tried the K240 MKII's pleather and velour pads, doesn't help the sound, makes the bass overkill and muddies up the sound, can't see the K242 pads being much different. Only pads I know of I see likely being good for the MA900 are the DT880/990 pads.Edited by kman1211 - 8/30/13 at 11:04am

Can someone go into more depth about the 598, AD700, or 558 sound quality? I understand that they're good for positional accuracy, but I want something that immerses me as well.

Since the HD558 is still mostly my main headphone for music and games, what I can tell you in terms of immersiveness is that it isn't actually all that good in this department. Not horrible mind you, but because the HD558 doesn't really extend that deep in bass, there's really not much immersiveness factor here.

So if you're to watch movies, the HD558's mids might be too forward (clean though!) and overpowering all the low-end details. The HD598 is even more bass shy than the HD558, but has a slightly more refined sound overall. The AD700? Well, it has zero bass so yeah...

The HD558 is another one of those decent all-rounders that doesn't do anything exceptionally well, but doesn't fail in anything either. The bass is what I would say, adequate for gaming and movies... but certainly, not immersive enough.

Reason I've stuck with it is because I love angled drivers and I've always liked the clamp on Sennheiser headphones, comfort basically.

I've been playing with the V-Moda M-80 the past couple days. I picked up Bioshock Infinite since it's now available on Mac and I've given the M-80 several hours of head time. I've also played a little Borderlands 2, mainly to test out the V-Moda BoomPro mic cable in multiplayer.

For staters, I really enjoy the M-80 as a portable headset. Get that out of the way right up front. They sound great both directly off the Macbook Pro as well as through my Recon 3D USB. The BoomPro cable, from what my teammates have said, is clear and crisp without any noticeable major delays in voice chat. Voice quality is on par with my Modmic v1, and it's easier to use since the Macbook has a TRRS connection so there's no need for an adapter like I use with the Modmic. Granted that advantage is missing as soon as another device comes into the mix, such as my Recon 3D or my Aune T1 amp. But at least V-Moda was kind enough to include a Y-adapter for just such a situation. It does an excellent job splitting the signals for my Recon 3D when using it as an amp/DSP. Another reason why I think they're excellent portables is the build quality and the included hard shell case for transportation. These things are built like the tanks of the headphone world. I foresee these going everywhere with me when I'm traveling as they don't require any additional hardware, when gaming in stereo of course.

Now for home gaming use, they would not be my first pick. When I weighed them against both my Mad Dogs (3.1 rev) and my AKG Q701 they left me wanting in different areas. Next to both headphones, the M-80 lacked depth. Not surprising considering it's up against full sized around ear headphones. The soundstage was about the same for both the M-80 and the Mad Dogs. Next to the MDs, I find that I lose some of the immersion and overall feel of the game audio. But that's not necessarily a full negative, as the M-80 does an excellent job of bringing forward the voice work and sets it apart from the ambiance. Elizabeth's voice was more focused towards me than with the Mad Dogs. Both are considered relatively neutral headphones with a slight warmth to the body. Would I want to use the Mad Dogs directly off my Macbook or even the Recon 3D? No, not really. There's a serious lack of power there which causes them to miss a lot of the presentation. So I would want to have a nice desktop amp behind them powering the Mad Dogs properly. I feel like I can't compare my Q701s with the M-80s properly yet, as I've been focusing more on comparing 2 closed headphones so they'd be on a more even playing field. Adding an amp to the M-80s doesn't help much at all, from what I noticed. Sure you get minor improvements here and there but overall it's a very efficient headphone and was designed to be able to run directly off an MP3 or CD player. One last quick note for home, I also have not yet tried them with my Mixamp 5.8. I'm not a huge console gamer. I primarily play on my computer either in OS X or Win8.

Music wise, I didn't give them a whole lot of time A/Bing with my other headphones. But they handled almost every genre I threw at them and reproduced wonderful sounds. I say almost, as my ska music wasn't as energetic as I'm use to hearing. But the M-80s seem to lack sparkle. And that makes sense, as they're a more mid and bass centric design. They don't focus on the upper range as much, so some of the brass comes off as flat when I listen. This could also be due in part to the recordings themselves. But again, not a whole lot of music time with them.

These impressions are from 2 days of experience with the M-80s. Not a long time I know so these are relatively early impressions still. Hopefully my stream of consciousness writing didn't lose anyone too often along the way.

Mad, I really hope Dan sends you a pair of Alpha Dogs to review. I may wait until after then to determine if I will buy the K712 or just upgrade my MDs to the Alphas with the money I get after selling the Anniversary. If the soundstage on the Alphas score around a 9 then that will be the route I take.

These impressions are from 2 days of experience with the M-80s. Not a long time I know so these are relatively early impressions still. Hopefully my stream of consciousness writing didn't lose anyone too often along the way.

Mad, I really hope Dan sends you a pair of Alpha Dogs to review. I may wait until after then to determine if I will buy the K712 or just upgrade my MDs to the Alphas with the money I get after selling the Anniversary. If the soundstage on the Alphas score around a 9 then that will be the route I take.

If that was aimed at me, I won't be. If it was aimed at MLE, he's on the list Dan (Mr. Speakers) created for the tour. I'm hoping MLE draws an early lot in the chain. You know, so I have less time to think about it. :p I only post occasionally even though I'm reading the forums multiple times a day. One of Dan's requirements was 1000+ post count. I'm not anywhere near that.